‘The Bills’ quarterback isn’t in the discussion for NFL most valuable player, as he was last year. He didn’t eclipse his team-record totals from 2020 in passing yards and passing touchdowns. However, Allen arguably carried an even heavier load of the Bills’ offense in 2021 and produced one of the best quarterbacking seasons in Bills history.’
Archives for January 2022
What we learned from each Bills game on way to the playoffs
‘What we learned: The No. 1 seed in the AFC was probably a goner. In fact, the Bills’ playoff worthiness was in question after this result. This was a reminder that the NFL truly is a week-to-week league, and showing up isn’t enough to produce the desired result. That’s a lesson the Bills learned the hard way.’
‘We took our lumps’: How the Bills’ tough stretch prepared them for this moment
‘“You know, last year, damn near we had smooth sailing,” wide receiver Stefon Diggs said. “We barely lost. We barely had slow days. Things weren’t off cue. But I feel like this team, we have built a little more character this year. … We took our lumps. You’ve got to take your lumps like a man. You got to take your ‘L’s good and you got to take your wins good, so I feel like this team does have a lot more character and we know what we’ve got to do to win. We know the stuff we shouldn’t be doing in game to cost us the game.”’
Reading the Fan Meter: It was an up-and-down season for Bills Mafia
‘The Bills only had back-to-back losses once this season, at the hands of the Patriots and then Tom Brady. The former, the Monday night game at home, was weather-wrecked and a slower type of pain. The Tampa game alone probably hit every point of the meter in one contest. The slow start, the comeback, the eventual loss in overtime – this game could not have been good for Bills Mafia’s heart rates. But the players and coaches saw something in the second half to build on, leaving Tampa with the loss, but also with renewed drive. Meter reading: 2’
Voice of the Fan: Bills have perfection playoff combination of Motor, mojo, momentum and Mafia
‘The defensive stats for both the 17th game and the entire 2021-22 season are mind-boggling.’
Bills, Patriots put out final injury reports: Big updates on Christian Barmore, Kyle Dugger
‘The Patriots listed 13 players as questionable for the game, including defensive tackle Christian Barmore, who was carted off the field last Sunday with a knee injury in the regular season finale. Barmore has been limited in practice all week but his status for the game remains in question. Several Patriots reporters have mentioned throughout the week that Barmore has been at practice but haven’t seen him do much in the open portions to the media.’
Brrr-smafia: Bills vs. Patriots set to be among coldest games played in Orchard Park (Latest forecast)
‘Accuweather.com says that as the evening wears on, the temperature could drop down to a low of zero with a “Real Feel” of -7 degrees. Wind gusts are expected to be around 14 miles per hours. The site adds, “Clear to partly cloudy and frigid; a cold evening for football.”’
‘Take the blue pill:’ Bart Scott suggests Bills’ Josh Allen use Viagra to stay warm vs. Patriots
‘Met with stunned silence, Scott added, “A lot of us take Viagra. Viagra opens up the blood vessels. A lot of NFL players, at least in my day, took Viagra… Viagra was first a heart medicine, right? So, it builds up circulation, which makes sure that it gets the circulation to the feet. I swear I’m not trying to be funny.”’
Deep freeze: Bills fans urged to layer up for Saturday playoff game
‘“Certainly, with fans, that’s probably where the bigger concern is, I would say,” he said. “Certainly, some people are thinner, so they don’t have as much body mass. That increases exposure to cold,” he said. “Some come unprepared. They’re not really wearing the gear that they need to. There’s a lot of good gear out there and if they gear up correctly, they can really protect themselves.”’
Build a dome in Orchard Park
‘Yet we can spin the wheel only so many times before our luck runs out.’
Bills lineman Harrison Phillips has patiently and productively become a team leader
‘“In the NFL, there’s two different types of power: there’s personal power and there’s positional power,” Phillips said. “So I’ve built up as much personal power as I can — which is being a good dude in the locker room, working my [butt] off, [having] a personal relationship with someone. There’s leadership sides to that.”‘
I thought the Bills were done after losing to the Patriots in Week 13 — but I was wrong
‘Except that the Bills found something that day — toughness, resilience — even if they didn’t identify it in the immediate aftermath of a frustrating defeat. After falling behind, 24-3, at halftime to Brady and the Bucs, the Bills rallied in the second half, with quarterback Josh Allen leading a long drive late in regulation to set up a tying field goal to force overtime.’
How do Josh Allen and the Bills perform in the cold?
‘But the bad weather unquestionably saps Allen of some of his incredible talents, and levels the playing field for a Patriots team that can’t match the Bills’ firepower on offense.’
Patriots-Bills Wild Card battlegrounds: Can Hunter Henry find success vs. Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer?
‘In Mac Jones’ first NFL season, Hunter Henry has been one of the quarterback’s favorite targets. But in the Patriots’ two meetings with the Bills, the tight end has been silenced.’
Josh Allen Predicts Bills-Patriots Wild Card Game Will Be ’12-Round Slugfest’
‘“It’s hard to beat a team twice in a season,” Allen said, via the Patriots. “That speaks for both sides because we are 1-1 on the season. They beat us at home and that’s where we are playing this game. So, we have to be ready for whatever they can throw at us. It’s going to be a 12-round slugfest, in my opinion, and it is going to take all four quarters to win the game.”’